A graffiti-covered wall in Prishtina reads: "No negotiations, self determination" (epa)
May 19, 2006 -- Serbia has called for UN-backed talks on Kosovo between Serbian and ethnic-Albanian negotiators to focus directly on the province's final status.

Direct talks began in February, but have so far dealt mainly with decentralization of Kosovo, run by the United Nations since 1999.

The Serb proposal came today in a letter to the foreign ministers of the Contact Group of countries overseeing security in the Balkans. They include Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the United States, and Russia.

Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanians want independence, while Serbia says it will not accept anything more than broad autonomy.